Long Time No See
The action happened so quickly that even the imperial guards, who were standing by for protection, couldn’t react in time. They watched helplessly as the emperor’s eyes turned red, and he harshly pushed Zhou Ziqiu away.
The emperor’s nightgown was thin, and the hairpin, which had been deliberately sharpened, easily pierced into his chest. The emperor let out a few broken cries and was supported by the guards behind him.
“Quick! Protect His Majesty!” the leading guard shouted, rushing forward to restrain Zhou Ziqiu. The woman was already weak, collapsing to the ground as she was pinned down, her gaze gradually becoming unfocused.
She slowly moved her body, looking towards Shi Li, who was disguised as a guard beside the Sixth Prince.
At the moment their eyes met, Shi Li broke free from her suffocation, her eyes almost popping out in rage. No one saw what she did, but the two people restraining Zhou Ziqiu both had their necks snapped simultaneously. Shi Li then forcefully pulled Zhou Ziqiu up from the ground, reached into her mouth, and extracted a pill that was partially melted but not swallowed, and threw it away.
The bedchamber turned into chaos, with imperial guards and shadow guards swarming in to protect the emperor and evacuate him. The Sixth Prince, knowing there was no turning back, gritted her teeth and stood at the door, kicking down the approaching shadow guards and blocking everyone inside the room.
A whistle sounded, and black-clad guards poured in from outside, turning the already chaotic scene into utter pandemonium. Friend and foe were indistinguishable, and a fierce melee ensued.
“Help! Help!” the guards shouted hoarsely, but it seemed someone was blocking the outside of the Funing Palace. The sounds of clashing weapons could be heard from afar, and those inside the palace couldn’t get out, while those outside couldn’t get in.
The emperor was protected in a corner, with the close guards pouring hemostatic medicine on his wound and stuffing ginseng into his mouth to keep his vital energy. After much fuss, the emperor finally broke free from his semi-unconscious state and gasped, “Kill that traitor first!”
As soon as he spoke, several people rushed towards Shi Li. Overwhelmed with rage, Shi Li spun and drew a dagger from her waist in the narrow corner. In an instant, blood splattered everywhere, and she slit the throats of everyone who approached.
Lifting the heavy wooden chair beside her, she temporarily cleared the obstacles in front of her while blocking the flying daggers coming from who knows where.
The Sixth Prince also rolled up her sleeves and joined the melee. Although her skills were not as good as Shi Li’s, the guards still showed some restraint towards her, temporarily clearing most of the people.
The palace, which was not big to begin with, soon filled with corpses.
Taking advantage of the gap, Shi Li bent down and hid behind the fallen desk. In a hurry, she extended her fingers into Zhou Ziqiu’s throat. The woman, who had closed her eyes, suddenly turned over, vomiting violently on Shi Li’s arm. Her stomach was empty, and she vomited mostly water.
In the end, it turned into dry heaving, mixed with her sobs.
The person in her arms was so thin that she could feel her bones. Shi Li lifted her face and clumsily wiped away the filth with her sleeve.
Zhou Ziqiu’s body trembled, clutching her chest as she struggled to breathe, but she still burst into laughter. Tears and sweat mixed together, and her laughter was both joyous and fragmented.
Her eyes could no longer see clearly. It seemed as if there were flames in front of her and blood all over the ground, but nothing in the past ten-plus years compared to the exhilaration of today.
She suddenly reached forward, feeling Shi Li’s prominent nose.
“You finally came to see me,” she said.
“Ziqiu, please endure a little longer, will you?” Shi Li’s body was stiff as she continuously rubbed Zhou Ziqiu’s face, not realizing that her tears were soaking through her collar.
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Zhou Ziqiu tried hard to open her eyes but eventually gave up, her hand limply falling into Shi Li’s palm.
“I’m so tired, Xiaoshi,” she mumbled.
“Let me sleep for a while.”
Fragments of shattered wood and flying daggers kept falling around them, but Shi Li seemed oblivious, staring intently at Zhou Ziqiu’s gaunt face. It wasn’t until the Sixth Prince, unable to withstand the attackers, shouted loudly that Shi Li snapped out of her trance and laid Zhou Ziqiu on the ground.
The Sixth Prince kicked away the shadow guard entangling her and retreated to Shi Li’s side: “I’ll protect her, you go!”
As soon as the words were spoken, Shi Li’s body became a blur, her dagger weaving an impenetrable net, preventing anyone from getting close.
Seeing her formidable martial arts, the shadow guards in the hall attacked her in unison. However, Shi Li seemed to be fighting desperately, indifferent to the pain from her injuries, counterattacking with throat-severing strikes, splattering blood all over the walls and floor.
Shi Li’s focus was solely on the emperor cornered in the room. She threw her dagger and sword during the gaps in the fight, but the shadow guards shielding the emperor blocked each attempt.
The noise outside grew increasingly chaotic, and those blocking the entrance of the Funing Palace seemed unable to hold their ground. A large number of imperial guards surged into the hall, charging at Shi Li while escorting the emperor out the door.
A few people were completely trapped in the hall. Shi Li killed the last person beside her, then forcefully pushed the corpse out, closed the door, and dragged the table to block it.
The imperial guards outside were banging on the door. The Sixth Prince also rushed over and, along with the remaining few guards, held the door shut with all their might, all drenched in sweat.
“Can Ye Youqing make it in time?” Shi Li, disheveled and covered in blood, asked hoarsely.
The Sixth Prince shook her head repeatedly, sweat running into her eyes, which she had to force out, then braced her back against the door.
“I don’t know, it’s been two hours, and I don’t know how much time has passed now,” she said with her eyes closed. The noise outside was getting more deafening, and this was a desperate struggle for all of them.
“I’m sorry, you should have succeeded to the throne, yet I’ve dragged you into this,” Shi Li panted, her voice muffled.
The Sixth Prince let out a snorting laugh, her dark eyes looking out through the solid wall: “Even if the Crown Prince is dead, this position may not be mine. Besides, Elder Sister has been kind to me, and the Noble Consort has always treated me very well. How could I stand by and watch them die?”
“Even if we die here today, it’s worth it,” the Sixth Prince said in a deep voice.
The banging grew heavier, and tiles on the roof were making clattering sounds, suggesting someone was running on the roof.
Seeing that they could barely hold on, they suddenly heard the sound of gongs and drums, accompanied by piercing screams. The footsteps on the roof abruptly stopped, and the noise increased in another direction.
“Fire, fire!” several eunuchs shouted while beating gongs.
Another fire? Shi Li was startled and exchanged glances with the Sixth Prince.
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“Another one?”
Shi Li nodded. At this moment, the impact from behind them had lessened somewhat. The fire seemed to be at the Funing Palace, and from the sound of it, it appeared to be in the rear hall across the corridor.
“Maybe it’s another trick of Xiaoqing’s,” Shi Li speculated, glancing at Zhou Ziqiu, who had lost consciousness on the ground, and prayed softly, “Please, hurry up.”
The palace had never been so chaotic. Imperial guards were running everywhere, some holding long swords and bows, surrounding Funing Palace, while others carried wooden buckets, scooping water from the peace tanks at the palace gates and rushing to the rear hall to extinguish the fire.
However, the fire seemed to have started from inside the hall, and it was discovered late. By the time those outside could see it, the fire had already blackened the locust trees outside the door.
Thick smoke rose from Funing Palace, black smoke covering the sky. The civil and military officials and their families who were attending the birthday banquet at Daqing Palace saw this scene and were all in panic. However, the imperial guards had already surrounded Daqing Palace, not allowing anyone to leave.
This place was far from Funing Palace, so the Emperor had also been brought here, shielded by a screen. Several imperial physicians surrounded him, stopping the bleeding and bandaging his wounds. The crowd stood in the main hall, looking at each other in panic, not daring to speak.
A long-faced eunuch had lost one of his shoes and was now wearing a bitter expression, incoherently trying to reassure everyone: “Please stay in the hall, do not go outside. Just now, an assassin harmed His Majesty, and for some unknown reason, Funing Palace caught fire. The flames are fierce, but the imperial guards have already gone to extinguish the fire. As long as everyone stays calm and waits, there will be no danger.”
Who knew that one wave had not settled before another wave arose. Just as he finished speaking, the sound of a horn suddenly blew. An imperial guard, dressed in armor, rushed in and knelt down, panting and said, “Your Majesty, there are, there are rebellious thieves who have broken into the palace gates. Their numbers are many, and they are heading towards the palace.”
As soon as these words were spoken, the hall erupted completely like a pot boiling over. Most of those present were old civil officials, and upon hearing this, their faces turned pale with fear. The cries of women and the noise of everyone arguing instantly filled the hall.
“Silence!” The Emperor behind the screen suddenly spoke, and the shadow guard beside him picked up a vase and smashed it, which finally stopped the noise in the hall. People moved to the sides of the hall, with occasional low sobs heard.
The hairpin stabbed into the chest was not long and did not injure the heart, so the Emperor only fainted several times from the pain and remained conscious.
He was helped to sit up and stared at the imperial guard who had delivered the message, speaking in a low voice, “What were the palace gate guards doing!”
The imperial guard trembled and said, “Your Majesty, the Palace Front Division has already sent out most of the imperial guards to intercept them. The remaining imperial guards and the Imperial City Division people are surrounding Daqing Palace to protect Your Majesty!”
“Who are they? How many?” The Emperor suppressed his breathing and asked hoarsely.
“Don’t know who they are, but around one or two hundred. However, their martial arts are strong, and they have the Sixth Prince’s people cooperating from inside the palace, which is why they couldn’t be stopped,” the imperial guard said.
“Rebellious son, all are rebellious sons! No matter who they are, kill them all without mercy!” The Emperor said angrily, but it pulled at his wound, and he bent over in pain.
The imperial guard, hearing this, promptly agreed and turned to rush out of the hall.
Inside the hall, there was an atmosphere of anxiety. The ministers huddled in the corners, and the women gathered together, occasionally letting out sobs.
Outside the hall, corpses were strewn all over the ground. A group of commoners, wielding long swords, charged through the palace on horseback, swinging their blades and cutting a bloody path. The imperial guards could not withstand them and kept retreating.
Adding to this, the spreading fire had reached other palaces, further disrupting the troops’ morale. The thousand-strong imperial guards were almost in disarray, barely managing to hold the line.
The hall doors were once again forced open, and a blood-soaked imperial guard rushed in, trembling as he spoke to the Emperor, “Your, Your Majesty, just now, a fast rider from outside the palace brought news that the rebel army has broken through the encirclement of the auxiliary troops and is now heading towards Bianjing. They are about to surround the imperial city!”
The crying and shouting in the hall erupted once more. The Emperor’s face turned from anger to a ghastly pale, veins bulging on his hand as he slowly stood up.
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How did it come to this?
“Who?” he murmured.
Just as he finished speaking, the great hall’s doors were suddenly smashed open. Several people forcefully barged in, causing a series of cries. A few dark figures clashed with the shadow guards, and at the same time, a person slowly walked in, wearing a blood-stained black and white robe. Her waist was slender and strong, holding a blood-dripping long sword.
Upon seeing her, the Emperor was first stunned, then his eyes widened, and he staggered back.
Some in the hall also recognized her face, especially a few from the Duke’s household standing near the Emperor, who gasped in shock.
Zhao Qingrou’s legs went weak, and she was supported by Qin Xin beside her.
Ye Youqing’s hair was disheveled, with a few strands falling loose, but she didn’t care. She dragged the long sword across the ground, making a rasping sound, and smiled.
“Your Majesty, long time no see.”
So dashing